Welcome Back, Sonic
by Maria Kintobor
Summary: The start of a new season of Sonic X! ...well, fanmade anyway. Chris awakens Maria after fifty years of hibernation. Meanwhile, Sonic and his friends are ready to go back to Chris' world. More inside.
1. Prologue

Sonic X - (Fanmade) Season

Story 1: Welcome Back, Sonic

DISCLAIMER: Characters, places, and objects are trademarks of Sega, Sonic Team, and/or Sonic Project.

Author's Note:  
This is a fanmade season of "Sonic X", how I believe it should be. Keep in mind that this fanfic is part of my take on what the next season of "Sonic X" should be like. That said, I'm linking this to season three (series two in Japan if it ever airs there) with Christopher Thorndyke explaining how his arrival on his home world turned out. Yes, I made Chris an adult again when he gets back to his world and you can be sure his friends and family are there to greet him with open arms. This is just the prologue, the real plot will be explained in the first chapter. But for now, let's start the brand new season of "Sonic X"! Fanmade season, that is.

Prologue

It had been six years since Sonic and his friends were sent back to their world. Inside the Thorndyke Science and Technology building at sunset, Helen is beside the computer feeling disappointed, surrounded by her friends, Danny and Francis, and the Thorndyke family, business mongul Nelson Thorndyke, movie actress Lindsey Fair, and Nelson's father, Chuck Thorndyke.

"I'm sorry, everyone. We've tried everything," Helen told the others in dismay. "We just couldn't get Chris back."

Chuck agreed with a heavy heart, "I'm afraid he's on his own now."

Everyone looks down in worry. Suddenly, there is a sound of a rocket engine approaching outside. They all hear the sound in wonderment and go over to look out the window to see where the sound is coming from.

Danny points at the sky, crying out, "Look! Up there!"

Everyone notices a mini rocket ship approaching the building from high in the sky. This is the same mini rocket built by Dr. Eggman that Christopher Thorndyke took to get to his world from Sonic's world after the Metarex had been defeated. But Chris' family and friends don't know this.

"What's that?" asked Francis.

"It appears to be some sort of rocket ship," Chuck replied.

Lindsey responed, "Oh, my."

"But why is it coming here?" asked Nelson.

"I don't know," was all Chuck could manage to say.

The rocket slows down and starts to land ouside the building.

"Come on!" Chuck told everyone.

Everyone rushes outside and watch the rocket as it's about to land. Expectation is on their faces.

A/N:  
Talk about a cliffhanger. But I think you can already tell what's gonna happen here. However, there's more to the story. I'm just tying up some loose ends left over from the season three finale. In the meantime, read and review.


	2. Project: Maria

DISCLAIMER: Characters, places, and objects are trademarks of Sega, Sonic Team, and/or Sonic Project.

Author's Note:  
Here's the reason I started this fanmade season of "Sonic X" in the first place: I added Maria to the main series cast. She is discovered in a cryogenic containment on the Space Colony ARK. "But how is Maria found?" you ask. Well, Chris and his friend, Helen (you know, the girl in wheelchair), along with Topaz, are on a mission to explore the ARK and find anything that can be useful to the government. Thus, they find Maria and awaken her. Soon, back on his planet, Chris' parents adopt Maria as their own daughter, thus, Chris and Maria become brother and sister. Originally, I wanted to make Maria a daughter to Chris and Helen. But then, I remembered that Chris and Helen had aged six years since Sonic went back to his world, making them eighteen, and Maria is twelve years old physically. This makes Chris and Maria only six years apart, too soon for Chris to become a dad. So, Chris and Maria are siblings instead. Either way, since Chris' parents aren't around much anyway, Chris can be like a father-figure to Maria. "Okay, I can live with that, but why is the title 'Welcome Back, Sonic'?" Don't worry, that will be explained in the next chapter. In the meantime, since Chris is narrating in this chapter, his narration will be in italic. So, now that we've cleared all that up, let's wake Maria up, shall we?

Chapter 1 - Project: Maria

The Space Colony ARK hovers above the planet in its orbit. Aboard the ARK, Christopher Thorndyke, Helen, and Topaz are wandering down one of the corridors of the colony. Topaz wears her combat outfit for this mission. It's still six years since Sonic and his friends went back to their world and Chris had returned to his adult form by now.

Helen told Chris, "I still can't believe you were actually brought here, Chris."

Chris smiled, "I couldn't believe it myself, Helen. It was the first time I had ever been in Space." He looks at Helen and adds, "Even if it was Shadow who brought me here."

Helen looks at Chris with a giggle, "I guess you're used to it by now after your trip through Space to help Sonic defeat the Metarex."

"Yeah," Chris replied. He looks forward and continues, "I'm just glad to be back home."

Flashback sequence: The mini rocket that Chris took to get back to his home planet arrives on, you guessed it, his home planet. His parents, Nelson Thorndyke and Lindsey Fair, his grandfather, Chuck Thorndyke, and his friends, Danny, Francis, and Helen, are standing in front of the rocket as it slowly lands outside the Thorndyke Science and Technology building at sunset. Chris narrates.

_Eggman did say he wasn't sure how old I would look when I arrived on my planet._

The rocket lands safely on the ground. The engine comes to a stop upon the rocket's landing. Everyone watches in expectation as the rocket's door opens in front of them, revealing a small staircase on the back of said door.

_So, I expected to either remain a kid or go back to being eighteen._

Then, a pair of feet start coming down the stairway. Everybody starts to smile big and bright as the now adult Chris comes off the stairway and happily stands in front of his family and friends with no trace of looking like a twelve-year-old whatsoever!

_But I'm glad things turned out the way they did. I don't think my parents were ready to see me as a kid again._

Thus, ends the flashback. Chris, Helen, and Topaz stroll down the corridor with eyes forward.

Helen smiled, "Well, I, for one, am glad you're back safe and sound."

"Me, too." Chris agrees. Then, he looks at Topaz and tells her, "By the way, thanks again for letting us come here, Topaz."

"Well, we could use all the help that we can get, Chris," Topaz responds. "You and Helen are the foremost scientists in the entire city of Station Square. Your knowledge is vital to our assignment. The government wants us to collect as much working equipment from the Space Colony ARK as possible."

Both Chris and Helen are looking at Topaz in interest by this time.

"They're planning on shutting this place down so that it wouldn't be used for evil like the first time Dr. Eggman came to the colony. It's important that we bring any equipment that's still functional before we seal off this place for good."

Chris seriously tells her, "We'll do all that we can to help."

Helen seriously agrees "Count on it."

Soon, they all enter an abandoned room filled with empty capsules on the wall. They look around in curiosity. Topaz shines a flashlight in the room to help them see what's there.

"What do you suppose this room is?" asks Helen.

All Chris could say is, "I don't know. I've never been in here before."

Topaz guesses, "It appears to be some sort of storage facility. Possibly for keeping experiments safe from harm."

Then, Helen curiously notices a capsule with its lid lit up in light blue light.

She points to the lit capsule, "Hey, what's that?"

Chris and Topaz go to Helen and look at the lit capsule she points at.

"Looks like something's in it," Topaz notices.

Chris approaches the lit capsule, curious to know what's inside. He looks through the lid and gasps in shock as he takes a step back.

"More like some one is inside it!" he said.

Helen and Topaz go to Chris and gasp in shock upon looking through the lid. Inside the capsule, in a deep sleep, is Maria Robotnik, best friend of Shadow the Hedgehog from fifty years ago!

Chris wonders, "Can it be? Maria?"

Topaz adds, "...Professor Gerald Robotnik's granddaughter from fifty years ago."

"This is Maria? The girl you told us about?" Helen asks Chris.

"Yes," he answered, "she was Shadow's best friend here on the ARK, but I thought she was..."

"I thought so, too," Topaz agreed. "Guess we were wrong."

"How did she survive?" Chris wonders.

"We'll look into that later," Topaz tells him. "Right now, we need to figure out how to wake her up."

Chris notices a keypad on the side of the capsule.

Chris ponders, "Hmm. I wonder..."

Helen and Topaz watch Chris go to the keypad.

Helen worriedly asks, "Chris, are you sure that's a good idea?"

Chris tells her, "Well, I have to try something. Besides, I'm an expert at cracking codes."

Chris types on the keypad as Helen and Topaz look on in expectation. Suddenly, some light fog seeps through a small opening in the capsule's lid which makes Chris stop typing on the keypad and notice with a gasp in surprise. Helen and Topaz also gasp in surprise upon seeing this. Topaz pulls Helen away from the capsule as the lid slowly opens in front of them. Suddenly, Maria, who has been asleep all this time, starts to fall, but Chris quickly catches her before she could land on the floor. Chris turns Maria, who is still asleep, face first while keeping her laying in his arms as Topaz brings Helen beside them. Maria slowly opens her eyes with a dream-like view of Chris' smiling face. Her eyes are wide open as the dream-like view of Chris becomes real and Maria gasps in shock at this.

Maria nervously asks, "Who... who are you?"

Chris tells her, gently, "A friend."

Maria slowly sits up and curiously looks around, noticing the smiling faces of Helen and Topaz.

Maria then asks, "What happened? The last thing I remember is sending Shadow down to the planet below before..."

Topaz explains, "You were in a stasis for fifty years. But now, you're safe."

Helen smiles, "You have nothing to worry about."

Chris comforts Maria, "Don't worry."

Maria looks at him.

He adds, "I won't let anyone hurt you."

Maria smiles back at Chris upon hearing this. Then, they both hug as Helen and Topaz look on. Soon afterwards, back on the planet below the ARK in the mid-afternoon, a black limousine comes down the driveway leading to the Thorndyke mansion. The right back door window opens and out peeks Maria, looking at the scenery excitedly.

"Wow!" she exclaimed. "This planet is amazing! It's just as my grandfather described!"

Inside with her are Chris and Christina Cooper, the secretary to the president. They happily look at Maria who is enjoying the scenery.

Chris chuckles, "She sure is excited. Of course, this is her first time on this planet."

"It was nice of your parents to adopt her into your family," Christina tells Chris. She looks at him and adds, "In the meantime, the government will look into Maria's prediciment as to why she survived and how she was put in that capsule in the first place."

Chris looks at Christina and tells her, "That's okay. Just as long as she's happy. That's all that matters to me now."

Soon, Maria gasps in awe at the sight of the mansion as the limo approaches it.

"Wow. Do you really live there, Chris?" she asks Chris.

Chris looks out the window with Maria at the mansion as Christina looks on.

He told her, proudly, "Yep. I've lived here since the day I was born. You see, my dad is an appliance distributor and my mom is a movie actress."

Maria admires, "You must be really lucky to live in a place like this."

Chris sadly looks down with a sigh.

"Not really," he said.

Maria looks at him in concern. They sit back down in the passenger seat.

"My parents are always busy," he explains, "even in my childhood. ...too busy to spend time with me, even if they wanted to. I was pretty lonely." Then, he happily looks up and adds, "That is, until he came."

He remininces the moment twelve-year-old Chris rescued Sonic the Hedgehog from the swimming pool the night Sonic first arrived in Chris' world. Adult Chris narrates.

_He was drowning in our pool, so, I dived in and rescued him._

Soon, Sonic sits on solid ground near the edge of the pool and coughs up water as young Chris looks on, sitting beside him.

Young Chris talks as Sonic stops coughing, "That was close. Are you okay?"

Sonic smiles, "Yeah, thanks a lot."

"I didn't think you could talk," says Young Chris in surprise.

Sonic looks at him in puzzlement and tells him, "I can do a lot of things."

Young Chris says in amazement, "Wow. That's awesome. ...that you can talk, I mean. (happily) My name's Christopher. Do you have a name?"

Sonic tells him, happily, "Yeah, I have a name. My name is Sonic the Hedgehog."

The memory fades as eighteen-year-old Chris, Maria, and Christina Cooper sit in the living room of the mansion. Chris is looking up as if he was daydreaming while Maria and Christina look at him with Maria looking confused.

Chris finishes his story, "And we've been friends ever since."

"Sonic the Hedgehog?" Maria wonders, "I've never heard of him."

Christina explains to Maria, "He was after your time, Maria. He's a blue hedgehog that could outrun even the fastest racecar on our planet."

Upon these words, there came a memory of the time Sonic passed by Sam Speed in his racecar during their first encounter. The memory quickly disappears as Chris and Maria look at Christina Cooper as she describes Sonic.

Christina continues, "He comes from another dimension, similar to our own."

Chris looks at Maria who's more confused than ever.

"Huh? An alternate universe?" Maria asks.

Chris tells her, "It's a long story."

She asks him in curiosity, "Do you think I can meet him?"

Chris sadly hangs head down with a sigh.

"Not unless you got a trans-dimensional gateway," he explains. "He went back to his own world almost a year after he arrived."

Maria becomes concerned for Chris, saying, "Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Chris comforts Maria with a smile, "It's not your fault. In fact, I built a gateway in my lab."

Maria bursts out, excitedly, "Really!"

"I still have to figure out how to make it work," he explains, "but when I do, we'll go see Sonic. ...together."

"That would be great!" she agreed. "What's he like?"

Chris lets out a dream-like sigh as he looks up.

He told Maria, "He's the best friend anyone could ever have."

A/N:  
Now that Maria's alive and living with Chris, she can be happy, right? If you think she's happy now, just wait until Sonic and the gang come back. 'Til next chapter, read and review!


	3. Brave Old World

DISCLAIMER: Characters, places, and objects are trademarks of Sega, Sonic Team, and/or Sonic Project.

Author's Note:  
Okay, now, we get to the "Sonic" part of the story. After all, the show wouldn't be called "Sonic X". (LOL) For starters, not much time had passed in Sonic's world: It had been only three months since our heroes (and Eggman, too) defeated the Metarex. The time has come to bring them back to Chris' world. That's where Shadow comes into the picture. Of course, if you had followed either the original version or the French version of season three's finale, you'll know that Shadow is indeed still alive in "Sonic X". Of course, unbeknownst to our heroes, a suspicious trio tag along for the ride, hidden from view from even Eggman. I'm sure you'll know who upon reading this story since they're from a recent Sonic game, one of the games I plan to adapt into my take on "Sonic X" season. This fic will hint at the coming of the game adaptation in question. Oh, and one more thing: Sonic narrates in this chapter, so, his narration will be in italic. Now, let's send them back to Chris, shall we?

Chapter 2 - Brave Old World...

On a sunny afternoon in Sonic's world, which is six years apart from Chris', Sonic is standing on a cliff overlooking a quiet grassy valley. Sonic appears to be uninterested in his surroundings. He narrates.

_Wow. I still can't believe it's been three months since we beat the Meterex._

Inside his workshop in the hills, Miles "Tails" Prower waters the sprout he's been growing in his planting pot.

_Tails is still taking care of that plant which grew from the seed that I gave him. ...one of Cosmo's._

Tails puts the watering can beside the sprout and strokes the sprout's leaves.

_He really misses her a lot and I don't blame him, we all miss Cosmo._

Flashback to when Cosmo, who magically became an adult, floated over to the black, lifeless planet made by the Meterex generals, then, Tails shooting the Sonic Power Cannon at said planet, heartbroken over losing Cosmo this way.

_She risked herself to help us destroy the Meterex once and for all._

After the flashback has ended, in her kitchen, Amy Rose takes her freshly baked cherry pie out of the oven and takes a satisfying whiff of the pie's aroma as she places it on the windowsill.

_Amy's been baking a lot lately, mostly for me. If she's trying to win my heart through my stomach, she's still got a long way to go._

Amy looks out the window with a dream-like sigh. She's obviously dreaming about Sonic again.

_...a really long way._

Big the Cat naps by a tree under a moonlit sky with his fishing line in a nearby lake as Froggy naps on Big's legs.

_Big the Cat is still fishing. ...as usual. At least, Froggy is there to keep him company. He is, after all, Big's best friend._

During the sunny daytime, Cream the Rabbit and her Chao, Cheese, are picking flowers in the fields.

_Not much has changed for Cream and Cheese, either._

Cream and Cheese then take their respective bouquets to show Cream's mother, Vanilla, who giggles at the sight.

_They're still making flower crowns for Cream's mom. She just loves 'em!_

In a nearby bush, The Chaotix - Vector the Crocodile, Charmy Bee, and Espio the Chameleon watch this tranquil scene.

_Little do they know that the Chaotix are spying on them._

Espio folds his arms in satisfaction. Charmy happily sniffles a bit before quickly getting a hankerchief out of his "pocket" and blowing his nose in it. (The hankerchief, not the pocket.)

_And that's about all they can do since they never had a case to crack when we got back from space._

Vector watches Vanilla through his binoculars as she holds a big bouquet of flowers and watches Cream and Cheese go pick some more.

_I think Vector has a thing for Cream's mom._

Vector brings down his binoculars as he dreamily gazes at Vanilla with a light-hearted sigh. Because of seeing Vanilla hearts are in his eyeballs where his pupils would be.

_Heh heh heh. I wonder what Cream would think about that._

On Angel Island, Knuckles the Echidna relaxes by the shattered pieces of the Master Emerald on the altar.

_And Knuckles is still waiting for the Master Emerald to restore itself._

Rouge the Bat flies over Knuckles and the emerald pieces from a distance.

_Rouge checks in on him now and then._

Rouge gives a soft smile and flies off.

_With the Master Emerald all broken up, she's been looking for the Chaos Emeralds, but hasn't found any, yet. None of us have._

Sonic still stands on the cliff, overlooking the scenery.

_Yep. It's all been really quiet for us. ...too quiet._

A faint image of Eggman's evil grinning face appears in the sky and then, disappears just as quickly.

_Eggman hasn't attacked in almost a week. A whole week! I wonder what he's up to, what he's planning._

Sonic sits down in boredom.

_I wish he would hurry up and attack already. I'm getting bored outta my mind!_

Sonic then looks at the sky in curiosity.

"Huh?"

A small yellow light slowly grows as if something was coming toward him. Sonic stands up and looks at the light with a sly smile.

"Looks like Eggman finally decided to come out of hiding," Sonic thinks.

As the light comes closer, Sonic curiously notices something.

"Wait. That's not Eggman," he thinks.

Soon, a familiar black figure comes through the light which now surrounds this figure. Sonic recognizes the figure in surprise.

He thinks, "That's..."

This figure is Shadow the Hedgehog, coming toward Sonic on like a comet. Sonic quickly covers his head and ducks as Shadow goes over him. Sonic slowly uncovers his head and watches Shadow crash into the ground, leaving a meteor-like trail behind him.

Sonic shouts in horror, "Shadow!"

Sonic rushes over to Shadow who slowly sits up, holding his head in pain.

Shadow groans, "Oh! Talk about 'crash and burn'."

Sonic stands in front of Shadow in concern as Shadow slowly stands up.

"What happened to you?" Sonic asks.

Shadow shakes the pain out of his head as he stops holding it. Then, he seriously looks at Sonic.

Shadow scowls, "What's it to you, Sonic?"

Sonic wonders, "I thought you were..."

Shadow interrupts Sonic, "Ha!" Shadow turns away from Sonic and looks at the sky, adding, "It'll take more than an explosion to get rid of me that easily."

Sonic curiously notices the rings on Shadow's wrists.

Sonic points to Shadow's wrists, "Your bracelets."

Shadow looks at his bracelets in confusion upon hearing this.

"Huh? What about them?" Shadow demaneds.

Sonic looks at Shadow's face, wondering, "You didn't lose them?"

Shadow chuckles, "Heh." He looks at Sonic, telling him, "Of course not. I'm not that stupid."

"So, where were you?" Sonic wonders.

"Well, if you must know," Shadow explains, "I was collecting the the Chaos Emeralds for something... special."

A sly grin comes to Shadow's face.

Sonic becomes confused, asking, "Oh?"

Later that day, Sonic and Shadow stand at the top of altar on Angel Island with Tails, Amy, Cream, Cheese, Vanilla, Vector, Charmy, Espio, and Rouge standing behind them. The seven Chaos Emeralds float around in a circle in front of Sonic and Shadow. Tails holds the pot with the sprout in his arms.

Sonic wonders, "You sure this'll work Shadow?"

"It has to," Shadow replies. "It's the only way you'll get to see Chris and his friends again."

Sonic looks at Shadow, saying, "You know, you don't have to come with us, Shadow."

Shadow looks at Sonic, assuring him, "Hey, who else is gonna keep you fools out of trouble?"

Knuckles has just put the last piece of the Master Emerald in a brown burlap bag. Sonic and Shadow watch Knuckles approach them.

"So, is ev'rything ready?" Knuckles inquires.

"Yeah, but is it really necessary to bring those pieces with us?" Sonic complains.

Knuckles scolds Sonic, "Sonic, I'm the guardian of the Master Emerald, broken or not. I have to be there when the emerald restores itself. Besides, it's easier to take the emerald with me this time around."

"Alright then," Shadow confirms. "We're all set. I must admit that I have never used Chaos Control with all seven Chaos Emeralds without going super." He looks at Sonic and adds, "Which is why I need your help to pull it off."

Sonic looks at Shadow and tells him, "I understand that, but why do we need Knuckles?"

Shadow explains as he and Sonic look at Knuckles, "Because his chant to the Master Emerald can boost the power of the Chaos Emeralds to pass through the dimensions while traveling through time and space." Shadow looks at Sonic and continues, "If I'm right, we'll be able to see Chris and his friends again."

Sonic nods at Shadow in determination. Knuckles does the same.

Cream exclaims excitedly, "I can't wait to see Chris again!"

Cheese excitedly agrees, "Chao chao chao!"

"Now, dear, try and keep calm," Vanilla tries to calm down Cream and Cheese.

Amy shouts, excitedly, "I so need to shop for some new clothes!"

"It'll be nice to add some new jewels to my collection," Rouge said with a twinkle in her eye.

Tails tells the sprout in his arms, "You hear that, Cosmo 2? We're going to a new world!"

Charmy shouts, excitedly "Whee! This is gonna be great! I just know it!"

"Whoa! Easy there, Charmy! Don't get carried away," Vector calms down Charmy.

"When is he not?" Espio muses.

Meanwhile, three pairs of eyes peer through a bush near the bottom of the altar. One pair of eyes is small, beady, and light blue. The other pair, regular-sized and deep blue. The third pair is in-between the other two in a regular-sized blue, as blue as Sonic.

"Okay then, let's get going," Shadow instructs.

Soon, Dr. Eggman flies in on his Egg Mobile high above the altar, far from anyone's view. His robot minions - Decoe, Bocoe, and Bokkun, are riding in the Egg Mobile along side Eggman.

"Alright, Knuckles, start us off," Sonic incourages Knuckles.

A sly grin comes to Eggman's face as he views the scene below him.

"Okay," said Knuckles, "here goes." He clears his throat, "Ahem."

Knuckles flings his arms up in the air in front of the Chaos Emeralds and closes his eyes in concentraion.

Knuckles chants, "The servers are the seven Chaos. Chaos is power, power is enriched by the heart. The controller serves to unify the Chaos!"

The Chaos Emeralds glow brightly and start spinning faster upon Knuckles' chant. Knuckles brings down his arms and opens his eyes as he steps back beside Rouge. Sonic and Shadow then approach the emeralds. The two hedgehogs look at each other.

Shadow tells Sonic "Let's do it."

Sonic nods in agreement, "Right."

They look at the emeralds and raise their hands out to reach them, but not quite touching them.

"Chaos Control!" Sonic and Shadow shout.

Suddenly, a bright white light comes through the spinning emeralds, engulfing them. Then, the light covers Sonic and Shadow. Then, Knuckles, Rouge, Tails, Amy, Cream, Cheese, Vanilla, and the Chaotix. The light soon reaches Eggman and his robots high above the scene. The light even gets to the eyes in the bush.

A/N:  
So far, so good. Looks like the gang's on the way. ...as well as some uninvited guests. But will they make it to Chris' world safely? And what about Maria? How is she adjusting to life on Earth? These questions and more will be answered in the next chapter. See ya then.


	4. Get Back to Where We Once Belong

DISCLAIMER: Characters, places, and objects are trademarks of Sega, Sonic Team, and/or Sonic Project.

Author's Note:  
Well, this is it, the moment of truth. Sonic and his friends come back to Chris' world after a long, long, absence. Maria has yet to meet Sonic and the others. And how will Shadow react upon seeing Maria again? Oh, and one more thing: Since this is a fanfic of the anime, there will be anime emotional expressions. Those will be in bold. Now, let's welcome back Sonic!

Chapter 3 - Get Back to Where We Once Belong

On Chris' world, set six years after Sonic's, Maria enjoys a delicious meal at the dining room table in the Thorndyke mansion.

"Mmm," Maria licked her lips. "This is the best meal I've ever tasted, Ella."

Chris sits at the table across from Maria, enjoying his meal. Standing at the end of the table is Tanaka, the Thorndykes' butler, and Ella, the Thorndykes' housekeeper, who is flattered by Maria's compliment.

"Why, thank you, dear," Ella beamed. "There's always more if you want seconds."

Maria holds out her empty plate to Ella, excitedly begging, "Oh, yes, please!"

Chris giggles at this. Ella takes Maria's plate out of the room.

Tanaka tells Maria, "I know you will make a fine addition to the family."

He bows at Maria in respect. She nods to him in response.

Chris tells Maria as she looks at him, "I agree. I'm glad to have you as my sister."

"Me, too, Chris," Maria agrees. "You've all been so nice to me." She looks around and adds, "I think I'm actually gonna like it here."

Chris beams, "I know you will."

Suddenly, Chuck Thorndyke rushes in the room in a panic.

He calls out, "Chris!"

Chris, Maria, and Tanaka look at Chuck in concern.

Chuck contines, "Helen just called!"

Ella peeks her head in the room and looks at Chuck in concern.

Chuck explains, "There's something strange happening over at your lab!"

"What is it, grampa?" Chris asks.

Inside the main lab of the Thorndyke Science and Technology building, the portal to the trans-dimensional gateway, which Chris had built to go to Sonic's world, is glowing as if something is about to come through the dimensions. Chris, Maria, Helen, Chuck, Tanaka, and Ella are in front of the gateway and look in awe at this sight.

Maria wonders, "Is this the trans-dimensional gateway you were telling me about, Chris?"

"Yeah," Chris replies, "and it looks like something's about to come through."

Suddenly, Topaz, still wearing her combat outfit, comes rushing in the room and stands beside Tanaka to look at the gateway.

She explains, "I came as soon as the president dispatched me. What are we dealing with here?"

"We're about to receive a vistor," Tanaka tells her.

Soon, a shadowed figure starts walking through the portal. Everyone gasps in surprise upon seeing this. Then, two smaller figures join the first. Chris, Helen, Chuck, Tanaka, Topaz, and Ella smile as the figures are revealed to be the Chaotix! Maria is puzzled upon seeing the trio since she has never met them before.

Vector stands in front of the humans and cries out, "Well, if it isn't Chris! Man, have you grown!"

Espio stands beside Vector and tells the humans, "It's good to see you all again."

Charmy hovers at Vector's other side and wonders, "Is that really you, Chris? You look so... big."

Chris laughs at this response, "Well, six years have passed in this world."

Maria looks at Chris and asks, "Friends of yours, Chris?"

"They sure are," he explains. "They come from the same world as Sonic."

She gasps in shock as she looks at the Chaotix again, "Really!"

Vector winks at Maria, "You better believe it, kid! And there's more of us where we came from!"

Maria becomes puzzled as she asks "There are?"

Topaz points at the portal in surprise, "Look!"

The others look at the portal in curiosity as three more figures come through. These figures are soon revealed to be Cream, Cheese, and Vanilla and are greeted with smiles from everyone except Maria who had never met anyone from Sonic's world before. The Chaotix clear the way for Cream and her Chao and mother.

Cream excitedly runs to Chris, calling, "Chris!"

She and Chris hug as she giggles and Cheese hugs Chris, too.

Cheese excitedly exclaims, "Chao chao chao chao!"

"Good to see you, too, Cream," he tells her. Then, he looks at Cheese, saying, "You, too, Cheese."

Cheese repies, "Chao!"

Cream and Cheese run to Ella.

"Hi, Ella!" says Cream.

Cheese adds as he and Cream hug Ella, "Chao chao chao!"

"Hello, Cream!" Ella replies.

Vanilla stands in front of Chris and admires him, "Oh, my. You certainly have grown."

"Uh, yeah, we just pointed that out," Charmy told Vanilla.

Vector, trying to win Vanilla's heart, scolded Charmy, "Charmy, don't interrupt!"

Cream and Cheese stop hugging Ella and look at Chris.

"It has been a while since I last saw you all," he said.

Maria smiles in awe, "Wow. So, you're all from Sonic's world?"

Vanilla looks at Maria and tells her, "Why, yes, dear. We're all such good friends of Chris."

"We sure are!" Cream argees.

"Chao chao!" Cheese agrees.

"And who might you be, dear?" Vanilla inquires.

Maria smiles, "Chris' parents recently adopted me. I'm his new sister, Maria."

Tails' voice rings out, "No way!"

Everyone looks in surprise at the portal upon hearing Tails' voice. Soon, Tails and Amy come through the portal and everyone smiles at their arrival. Tails still holds the sprout in his arms.

Tails looks at Maria in surprise and questions her, "Are you the same Maria from the Space Colony ARK?"

Amy looks at Maria with a gasp in shock, "Is it really true?"

Maria giggles, "Yeah, it's really me, only now, I'm Maria Thorndyke!"

Tails and Amy laugh as they run to Maria. Vanilla stands beside Cream, Cheese, and Ella to clear the way.

"Wow! I can't believe it!" Amy beams.

"Me neither," Tails agrees. "It's nice to fin'lly meet you."

"Thank you," Maria tells them, "but how do you know about me, anyway?"

Tails and Amy reply in happy embarrassment, "It's a long story."

**Sweatdrops roll down the sides of their heads.**

"I'm just glad you guys made it here okay," Chris tells them.

Tails responds as he and Amy happily look at Chris, "You and me both, Chris." Tails looks at the sprout in his arms and adds, "And Cosmo 2 is excited to be here, too."

Chris notices the sprout in Tails arms, "Oh, is that the seed that Sonic gave to you?"

"It sure is," Tails replies. Then, he looks down sadly and says, "I really miss Cosmo."

Amy looks concerned for Tails.

Chris comforts Tails, "We all do."

Tails and Amy curiously look at Chris and wonder, "Oh?"

"I'm sure she would be proud of you taking good care of her seed," Chris tells Tails.

Tails and Amy laugh upon hearing this.

Tails beams, "Thanks, Chris."

Maria asks in confusion, "Who's Cosmo?"

Amy looks at Maria and explains, "She's a friend we met back in our world, from another galaxy."

"Huh?" Maria asks, still puzzled.

Amy giggles, "Don't worry, we'll explain later."

"I'm surprised to see Maria here," admits Tails.

Amy looks at Chris who asks, "How did you find her, anyway?"

"Well, she was asleep in a capsule on the Space Colony ARK," Chris explains.

Rouge's voice rang out, "Did you say 'Space Colony ARK'?"

Everyone looks in surprise at the portal upon hearing Rouge's voice. Soon, Rouge walks out of the portal and everyone smiles upon seeing her.

Rouge nudges, "Hey, don't keep me out of the loop."

Tails and Amy stand beside Helen to clear the way as Rouge approaches Maria.

"So," Rouge admires Maria, "you must be Professor Gerald Robotnik's granddaughter."

Maria responds, "Yes, that's right."

"Well, what's a nice girl like you doing here?" asks Rouge.

"According to Chris," Maria explains, "I was asleep in one of the ARK's capsules for fifty years until he found me and woke me."

Chris adds, "Yep. My parents adopted her and now, she's my sister. She's staying with us, now."

Rouge remarked, "I see." She turns to Topaz and teases, "So, Topaz, it's been a while, huh?"

"It sure has, Rouge," Topaz tells her old partner. "In fact," she adds as she and Tanaka hug, "Tanaka and I got married after you left."

Tanaka agrees, "Yes. And very soon, we are expecting a little one of our own."

He and Topaz lovingly look at each other.

Rouge congratulates the happy couple, "Well, congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Tanaka. And just so you know, I'm expecting a little one, too." She winks, "...a little gem, that is."

Tanaka and Topaz stop hugging.

Topaz teases, "Oh, Rouge, don't you think about anything other than jewels?"

Knuckles' voice rang out, "When doesn't she?"

Upon hearing this, everyone happily looks at the portal as Knuckles comes toward Rouge, carrying his bag on his back.

Rouge shrugs, "Eh, call it a weakness." She flirts with Knuckles, "Of course, jewels aren't the only things that make me weak, huh, Knuckie?"

Knuckles nervously instructs her, "Uh, let's not go there."

**A sweatdrop rolls down the side of his head.**

"Hey, Knuckles!" shouts Chris. "Great to see you again."

Knuckles happily looks at Chris and calls out, "Hiya, Chris! You sure are a strapping young man, now." He nudges Chris, "Have you been working out?"

Chris chuckles, "When I have some spare time."

Knuckles looks at Maria and asks her, "So, you're Maria, huh?"

Maria smiles, "Yep, that's me."

Knuckles winks, "Well, stick with me, kid, and good ol' Knuckles will show you the ropes."

Rouge responds in disbelief, "Oh, brother. And he thinks I'm batty."

Tanaka and Topaz giggle upon hearing Rouge's reaction.

Maria points at the bag on Knuckles' back, "Could you start by telling me what you have in your bag there?"

Knuckles gasps in shock upon hearing this.

He scratches the back of his head in embarrassment, "Well, uh..."

**A sweatdrop rolls down the side of his head.**

Rouge happily answers for him, "He's keeping the pieces of the Master Emerald in there."

Knuckles gasps in horror at Rouge's response.

"You mean you brought the broken pieces with you?" asks Chris. "After it was destroyed helping us get Sonic back from the Meterex?"

Knuckles just nervously laughs.

**A sweatdrop rolls down the side of his head.**

Rouge explains, "He wants to be there when the emerald restores itself."

Knuckles curiously looks at her.

She adds with a sly grin, "I can hardly wait myself."

Knuckles gets annoyed with Rouge and sarcastically responds, "Oh, gee, Rouge, why don't you tell the whole world?"

She tells him, "Nah, I've got better things to do with my time." She then flirts with him, "But if makes you so crazy..."

He angrily warns her, "Stop it!"

**A blue vein sticks out of his forehead.**

Sonic's voice rang out, "I guess some things never change no matter where we go."

Everyone gasps in surprise upon hearing this.

"Can it be?" Chris wonders.

Everyone looks at the still-glowing portal as a familiar figure comes toward them. Chris starts to smile as the figure is revealed to be... Sonic the Hedgehog. Cream, Cheese, and Vanilla step away from Chris as he laughs and runs toward Sonic. Knuckles and Rouge get out of Chris' way. Sonic laughs as he runs toward Chris. Sonic and Chris stand in front of each other in admiration.

"I really missed you, Sonic," Chris tells Sonic.

Sonic agrees, "Me, too, Chris. Me, too."

Everybody smiles at this sight. They are lined up as follows: Charmy, Vector, Espio, Ella, Vanilla with her arms around Cream in front of her, Cheese, Amy, Helen, Chuck, Tails, Maria who looks at Sonic in curiosity, Knuckles, Rouge, Topaz, and Tanaka.

Sonic admires Chris, "You've... grown."

"Six years have passed in this world," Chris explains.

Maria ponders about Sonic.

"I see," said Sonic.

Maria remarked in awe, "So, that's Sonic."

Sonic and Chris curiously look at Maria and wonder, "Huh?"

Maria approaches Sonic and examines him, "Amazing. The resemblance is so uncanny."

Chris steps out of the way as Maria stands in front of Sonic.

"You look so much like my friend, Shadow the Hedgehog," Maria tells Sonic.

Sonic happily responds, "Yeah, I get that a lot." He winks at Maria, "I'm Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog!"

Chris smiles at this sight.

Maria happily replies, "Nice to meet you. Chris has told me all about you."

Sonic blushes and scratches his head in happy embarrassment with a laugh.

A sweatdrop rolls down the side of his head.

"Ah, it's nothing, really," was all he could say.

Chris looks at Sonic and asks him, "How did you get here, anyway?"

Sonic proudly looks at Chris and explains, "With the Chaos Emeralds, of course." He rubs his finger under his nose, "But even Shadow wasn't sure what time period we would end up in."

Chris and Maria gasp in shock upon hearing Shadow's name.

"Shadow?" Maria bursts out.

Chris wonders, "You mean he's...?"

Shadow's voice echoes through the room, "Did somebody call my name?"

Sonic, Chris, and Maria look at the portal as a familiar figure walks toward them. Everyone else looks at this in wonderment. Soon, the figure stops in front of the portal. The portal stops glowing, finally powering down. This reveals the figure, from the feet up to the head, to be... Shadow the Hedgehog!

Sonic teases, "'Bout time you showed up. You sure know how to make an entrance."

"Yeah, whatever," Shadow bushes off Sonic.

"You mean you did all this?" Chris asks Shadow.

Shadow explains, "Well, I know how much Sonic and the others wanted to see you again."

The Chaotix, Vanilla, Cream, Cheese, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, and Rouge smile at this.

Shadow continues, "It was the least I could do."

Sonic compliments Shadow, "We really appreciate this, Shadow."

Shadow just responds, "Hmph. Don't mention it. Please."

"So, where are the Chaos Emeralds now?" wonders Chris.

Shadow tells Chris, "They arrived in this world, too. I can feel their presence here. They're obviously scattered across the planet. ...as usual."

Maria asks, "Shadow?"

Shadow curiously looks at Maria and wonders, "Huh?"

Maria smiles brightly at him. Shadow gasps in shock upon seeing her. A past memory of her flashes in his mind before returning to reality.

"It's you," he says at last. "The girl in my memory."

Maria becomes confused upon hearing Shadow's comment.

She approaches him in concern, inquiring, "Don't you remember me, Shadow?" She smiles, "I'm your friend, Maria."

Shadow stutters, "Ma-... Maria?"

He groans in pain. He holds his head and gets on his knees. Everyone gasps in shock over this.

Maria calls to the black hedgehog, "Shadow!"

She, Sonic, and Chris kneel beside Shadow in concern.

"What's happening to him?" Maria worriedly asks.

Sonic explains, "Shadow still has amnesia."

Chris adds, "He's trying to remember, but it's hurting him."

Maria wonders, "Amnesia?"

Rouge approaches Sonic, Chris, Maria, and Shadow in concern for Shadow.

Rouge tells Maria, "He's been like this ever since he woke up from that capsule on Eggman's spaceship."

Maria looks at Rouge in confusion and asks, "Eggman? Who's Eggman?"

Sonic looks at Maria and explains, "He's this round chubby guy who's always trying to control the planet."

Chris remarks as he and Sonic look at each other, "Thank goodness he's not here."

Maria becomes angry over Eggman and proclaims, "He sounds like a bully."

Cream agrees, "He is."

Topaz approaches Maria, worriedly. Topaz kneels beside Maria who curiously looks at her.

Topaz explains to Maria, "I hate to tell you this, Maria, but Dr. Eggman... is your cousin."

Maria gasps in shock upon hearing this. Meanwhile, outside the building, Eggman and his robots float high above the building in the Egg Mobile.

Eggman chuckles, "Oh, ho, ho, ho! I couldn't have planned this better myself! It feels so good to be back on this fragile planet."

"They have absolutely no idea we are here, too!" Decoe pointed out.

Bocoe stated, "We should take advantage of this situation while we have the chance."

Bokkun agrees, "Yeah, what're we waiting for, anyway?"

Eggman assures his loyal companions, "All in good time, my impatient little minions. We just got here. We have to formulate an evil plan, first. Now, let's get to the ol' HQ, shall we?"

He and his robots fly away in the Egg Mobile. A star twinkles, indicating that it was Eggman going off in the distance. Soon, three streaks of smoke fly across the sky. The streaks are different colors - The left one is purple, the right one is gray, and the middle one is green. The streaks then dissipate.

A/N:  
So ends the first episode of my fanmade season of "Sonic X". I'll write more someday, but it takes time to think up the dialogue and such. So, 'til then, send your reviews!


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